In Alis, the author's attention is focused on the opposition and the progressive interpenetration of two distinct means of organizing the sound material.

The formal articulation of the two principal sections of the work is highly explicit. The first section concentrates on the contrapuntal aspect of instrumental gestures, realized through a writing style that is extremely articulated and fluctuating. This leads, through a process of progressive densification, to the work's moment of highest tension; at its culmination, it is possible to perceive the individuality of each instrument before it rapidly fades away, making way for the next section.

Within this section, the "strappati" chords of the violins and violas – opposed by the dark and sombre ambience of the piano, bass clarinet and cello, all playing in their lowest registers – progressively orient the work toward verticality. This is the moment of maximal concentration and energy of individual elements – united now so as to form a single concise and powerful figure.